Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja for Sweden on a two-day visit to represent Nigeria in bilateral engagements with the Scandinavian nation, the presidency has announced.
This comes while the president, Bola Tinubu is still in the United Kingdom for a two weeks vacation.
In a statement by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, had noted that the vacation was part of the President’s annual leave.
However, a statement on Wednesday by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, stated that the Vice President during the working visit, which was at the instance of President Bola Tinubu, will engage in high-level bilateral talks with key government officials, including a meeting with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and the Swedish Prime Minister.
According to the statement, Senator Shettima will use the visit to explore opportunities for strengthened collaboration between Nigeria and Sweden in areas such as “ICT, innovation, education, digitalisation, sustainable transport, mining, and agriculture”.
Nkwocha said the Vice President will also meet with key stakeholders in both the government and private sector during the visit.
“The Vice President will also meet with Norrsken, a Stockholm-based venture capital impact investor, which recently launched Norrsken22, a USD 205 million tech investment fund for Africa.
“Norrsken22 is a technology growth fund, backed by over 30 prominent unicorn founders, partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs building Africa’s next tech giants,” Nkwocha said.
The statement indicated that the meeting with Norrsken will provide insights into how Nigerian entrepreneurs can benefit from this fund and further strengthen the technology ecosystem in Nigeria.
He said, “Notably, 40% of the investments from Norrsken22 are expected to be allocated to Nigerian technology entrepreneurs.
“Twelve Nigerian private sector companies that are doing business with Sweden are going independently as a private sector bloc.
“While in Sweden, VP Shettima is also expected to articulate Nigeria’s economic vision and the reforms being undertaken by the administration to create a business-friendly environment in Nigeria for investors. The myriad of opportunities that abound in Africa’s largest economy will also be showcased.”
“The Vice President is expected back in the country on Saturday,” the statement partly read.
